Portugal vs Croatia: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

This should be a competitive game, but we are backing the hosts Portugal to come out on top with a narrow victory. They have won three of the last five meetings against Croatia and should be confident in improving that record. Neither side have kept a clean sheet in the previous four meetings, suggesting goals will be prominent.

The BTTS market has landed in four of the previous five meetings between the two sides, and we expect this to continue. Portugal have dominated this matchup, losing just once in the last seven and winning five of the last eight – Portugal 2-1 Croatia

Nations League action returns as Portugal host Croatia in the first game of Group A in the competition.

Date: 05/09/24

Kick-off time: 19:45

Venue: Estadio da Luz

Both Portugal and Croatia experienced premature endings to their Euros journeys in the summer, but both will have their eyes on silverware once more as they compete in the Nations League. Croatia will be hoping to go one step further than last time, when they finished as runners up to champions Spain in 2023.

After a group stage exit at the European Championships, Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic faces the task of rejuvenating his side in a group which also contains Poland and Scotland. They, alongside Portugal, will be expected to advance, and they will look to get off to a strong start in their first game.

Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-final of the Euros, and their goalscoring became an issue with two goalless draws in the knockout stages. Despite numerous talented options in attack, only Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Conceicao found the net, with their other two goals being own goals. Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make an impact, but he will be back once more, desperate for what could perhaps be a final attempt to add another international trophy to his collection.

Although both teams struggled in the tournament, this fixture should still provide goals with the players on display. Prior to the Euros, Croatia were in excellent scoring form, scoring nine goals in three games. Andrej Kramaric is expected to start up front, and he has made a hot start to the campaign with four goals in his first two games for Hoffenheim. Defensively, they have let in six in their last three, and this could be a weakness Portugal should be able to exploit.

These two teams have met on just eight occasions but it is a matchup dominated by Portugal who have won six and drawn one. The last meeting came just before the Euros as they faced off in one of the final warm up games. Croatia picked up their first ever win against Portugal with a 2-1 result. Luka Modric and Ante Budimir scored either side of a Diogo Jota equaliser. Prior to this, they met in the UEFA Nations League in November 2020, in which Portugal won 3-2. Man City defender Ruben Dias scored a brace, whilst Joao Felix also netted. Mateo Kovacic bagged twice for Croatia.

Portugal vs Croatia will not be available to watch on TV in the UK.

Portugal

Portugal will be without Pepe for the first time as he recently retired from international football. Manager Roberto Martinez has injected youth into the side, calling up the likes of Renato Veiga, Geovany Quenda and Tiago Santos for the first time whilst leaving out Joao Cancelo and Danilo Pereira. Cristiano Ronaldo will captain the side.

Croatia

Despite retirement rumours, Luka Modric remains in the squad and captains the side. Marcelo Brozovic, however, has retired from international football, but Ivan Perisic is in the squad even though he is without a club. There are a few injury concerns with Lovro Majer and Josip Stanisic ruled out, and Duje Caleta-Car is a doubt with a knock.

Portugal:

In their last five games, Portugal have won two, drawn two and lost one. The Euros ended in disappointment for Portugal, as they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Their journey started with two wins and a loss in the groups, where they advanced as group winners. They won their first game against Czech Republic 2-1, though they left it very late to win as a stoppage time winner from Francisco Conceicao completed a comeback.

They followed this with a much more comfortable victory against Turkey, winning 3-0. Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes were on the scoresheet, in addition to an own goal. Despite going through, they were dealt a shock as Georgia beat them 2-0 in the last group game. Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put them in front just two minutes in, before Georges Mikautadze doubled the lead from the spot in the second half.

Portugal were unable to find the back of the net in either knockout fixture, drawing 0-0 after extra-time in both the last 16 tie against Slovenia and then in the quarter-final against France. They eliminated Slovenia 3-0 on penalties, with Diogo Costa the hero, but could not repeat the feat against France, losing 5-3.

Croatia:

In their last five games, Croatia have won two, drawn two and lost one. It was an underwhelming summer for Croatia, as they failed to get past the group stages in the Euros. Their only two victories of this stretch came in the two warm up games prior to the tournament. They beat North Macedonia 3-0 with goals from Lovro Majer (x2) and Marco Pasalic. Their other victory was against their upcoming opponents Portugal, with Luka Modric and Ante Budimir strikes helping them to a 2-1 win.

Eventual champions Spain was their first fixture in the Euros, and they were easily set aside 3-0. Alvaro Morata and Fabian Ruiz scored two quick fire goals, before Dani Carvajal completed the scoring before the break. They had a chance to get back on track against Albania on Matchday Two, but conceded a 95th minute equaliser to leave their hopes hanging by a thread. They fell behind early, before turning it around with two goals in as many minutes in the second half, though they could not hold on.

Their final group stage game was a must win against Italy, but they failed to do so, with a 1-1 draw ending their journey. Again it was a very late leveller which broke hearts, with Mattia Zaccagni’s 98th minute goal cancelling out Modric’s earlier opener.

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